What did you do in the garden today?

[ChicksnMore]

Good morning gardeners. I watered at 0430 and was sweating a little bit before I was done. That’s this morning not yesterday afternoon. It’s still 90 degrees out there

This new water wand is pretty cool. It has a dial on it so you can increase/ decrease the flow based on what you’re watering.

We are under a heat alert through the entire holiday weekend. I’m a little irritated with Mother Nature over that. The pot of still damp soil I put a plant in earlier this week was bone dry this morning.

All the willow bonsai have been put in pots but I’m having lighting issues since it’s too hot for them outside so I put them all in the front window for now. I also put one of the birds of paradise in a pot to try that as a bonsai as it’s used to the heat here.

That’s it for me. This weekend will be more cleanup from the storm. Still have things to cut down and need to get another compost bin going. Have a great day all.

I'm trying to bonsai too! I'm not very far into it but I have some strangler figs I've been working on for a couple of years. Just letting them grow for good trunks, so not training them yet. They love the heat and they grow well from cuttings. Gotta love a plant you can reproduce every time you trim it.
I picked up a rock fig to try to bonsai too. Poor thing was down to just one leaf when I got it, which our silly kitty promptly tore off for a new toy. So it's spent the summer just recovering. But it's got some good leaves now ands growing.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Morning Gardeners We may get a few things ripen still.

 

[DParker75089]

Next time try a cleaver and hammer or an axe/hatchet. Once you cet started it'll go right through.
Nice use of overkill though! I have pics somewhere of being unable to find matches or a lighter so that Bday cake got lit by a torch!

Speaking of torches...when you don't want to fire up the grill to sear just one steak...

 

[bruceha2000]

I just stick a chefs knife or a santoku knife straight down in the center and pull it down towards one end, then do the same on the other side.

Yes, a good chef's knife (*) will do the trick but REAL men use power tools whenever possible

* which everyone SHOULD have but many don't and use the wrong knife instead of that "scary big one". Really, the WRONG knife for the job is more dangerous than the scary big one.

 

[chickengr]

Extreme heat and not enough water were the only things I ever seen stunting my okra's.
Are the leaves wilty? They will let you know if they are drying out. They'll come back in a day or so but that can throw off the flowering for sometimes a week if you let it get bad.

My okra's were steady bloomers, never had a ton of flowers /fruits, maybe 2 to 3 at a time max but just constantly producing them.

You could try some fertilizers for them too. High Nitrogen of course is going to make them leafy, some phosphates may be very helpful too. Now I hear seasons are swapped on the other end of the globe, but here in the southern US, it's starting to get late in the season. They should be long producing already and in a few months starting to get leggy and dying off because their season's done.

Aaron

then I guess extreme heat is to blame. plants are green and healthy.

 

[chickengr]

Speaking of torches...when you don't want to fire up the grill to sear just one steak...

that's my style, lol. I put a corn cob on a screwdriver and bake it over a gas stove flame.

 

[Sally PB]

I spent about 3 hours digging weeds and pulling non-producing tomato plants. My back said I did enough for now, so I'm moving on to something else, like catching up on BYC. And finding some lunch.

This fall will be "The Season Of Soil Building." Wood chips, leaves, coffee grounds, and of course, chicken poop/compost, all going onto the gardens to feed the soil.

Does anyone use wood ashes on their soil? I will have lots of ashes from the wood stove. I know not to put them on anything that needs acidic soil, like blueberries.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Here's what is happening to the plants inside the hoop house. Anyone know what might be causing it?

Newly planted green beans. Old green beans are the same. It affects production, for sure.

Same spotting occurring on tomatoes too...

 

[Ascholten]

I seen that once when I sprayed neem oil and mixed it too strong. Have you sprayed anything on them recently, or even an insect 'fogger' or something that could have misted on them?

aaron

 

[TJAnonymous]

I seen that once when I sprayed neem oil and mixed it too strong. Have you sprayed anything on them recently, or even an insect 'fogger' or something that could have misted on them?

aaron

No, haven't sprayed anything on the plants in months and never on these new seedlings